Jets have plans for Pardy in Winnpeg

But NHL team makes other signings with IceCaps in mind

It's possible, but given his new contract with the Winnipeg Jets, unlikely that Adam Pardy will be playing for the St. John's IceCaps this fall.

The 29-year-old Bonavista native signed a one-year, one-way deal with Winnipeg Saturday, meaning their is no minor-league component to his contract; his paycheque will be based on his $600,000 annual salary no matter where he plays. What's more, he would need to clear waivers to be assigned to the IceCaps, and the small-market Jets are not an organization that easily accepts having to pay National Hockey League money to minor-league players.

Pardy broke into the NHL with Calgary Flames in 2008, and has suited up in exactly 200 big-league contests with the Flames, Dallas Stars and Buffalo Sabres, recording four goals, 29 assists and 171 penalty minutes. During last year's lockout-shortened NHL season, he appeared in 17 games with Buffalo, where he had four assists and 14 penalty minutes, and also played 21 games with the Rochester Americans, the Sabres' AHL farm team, for whom he had two goals, seven assists and 22 penalty minutes.

The six-four, 220-pound Pardy brings size that is not abundant on the Jets' blueline and should be in competition for work with rookie Jacob Trouba and former IceCaps Paul Postma, Arturs Kulda and Zach Redmond. The latter three are all restricted free agents who have been given qualifying offers by Winnipeg.

-------

The Jets did announce the signing of three players Saturday who are more likely to play with St. John's, adding wingers Jerome Samson and Andrew Gordon, and bumping up centre John Albert from an AHL contract to an NHL contract.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed.

Gordon and Samson are AHL veterans who have some NHL experience.

A 27-year-old From Porter's Lake, N.S., just outside Halifax, Gordon has played 55 NHL games with the Washington Capitals, Anaheim Ducks and Vancouver Canucks, including six games with Vancouver. He has three goals and four assists in the National Hockey League.

In 349 AHL games, the six-foot, 195-pound Gordon has 126 goals, 141assists and a plus-77 rating. in 2009-10, The product of St. Cloud State university had 37 goals, 71 points, played in the AHL All-Star Game and helped lead the Hershey Bears to a Calder Cup championship.

His goal total that season tied him for second in the league, with Samson.

in fact, other than that he is a year younger, Samson's entire stats line very much mirrors that of Gordon. He is also a six-foot, 195-pound right-winger, who has been a proven AHL scorer with a number of NHL stints, all with the Carolina Hurricanes. Those call-ups to Carolina add up to 46 games in which he has scored two goals and seven assists.

A native of Greenfield Park, Que., who spent most of his major junior career with the QMJHL's Moncton Wildcats, Samson has played in 356 AHL games with Carolina farm teams in Albany and Charlotte, amassing 133 goals and 147 assists. That includes five seasons with 20 or more goals.

Samson, who also plays centre, was a first-team AHL all-star in 2010. Gordon was a second-team choice the same year.

Despite modest numbers and some health woes, his work ethic and relentless checking have helped helped Albert, a five-foot 10' 185-pound left-shooting centre become a St. John's fan favourite in his two years with the IceCaps.

The 24-year-old Ohio native has 12 goals and 20 assists in 88 games with St. John's. That includes just 24 games in a 2012-13 season that saw him beset by injuries.